Culture Totemism

The first animal tamed by people was the dog. Its domestication probably occurred in the Early Stone Age, in the period of hunting development. Many centuries later, people managed to tame sheep, pigs, goats, and cows. The oldest center of stock farming was Azokh Cave. More than 20 000 bones of various ungulate animals were discovered there. It was precisely in that period that certain animals became the object of worship.

For a rather long time, scientists have been trying to explain the origin of pronouncedly isolated rock drawings of goats or sheep, which did not fit in the context of rich hunting plots in any possible way. Such petroglyphs are frequently found on the slopes of Ukhtasar volcano, situated nearly 200 km south from Yerevan. There is a hypothesis that in this way people presented the cult of sacred animals.